Improved snap-hook



iiiuted 51am @met Gemine.

RALPH` L. FRASER, OF WESTERN VILLE, NEW YORK.

Letters .Patent .N 96,417, dated November 2, 1869.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and Amaking part of the same.

To all whonritnmy concern:

drawings, making part ot this sp'eciticatiim, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a hook, constructed according to my improved method, and attached to a leathern strap or rein.

Fignre2 is a back view ofthe hook.

Figure 3 is a ti'ont view ot` the same, showing a modilication ot' the mode of attaching to the strap, the latter heilig shown in red lines. y

Figure 4, a side view of another form or modiiica-v tion ot' the saine.

Like letters ot' reference ,indicate corresponding partsin all ofthe igures.

My invention is especiallvdesignerl for use upon driving-reins, but it is equally applicable for bitchingstraps and other parts (if-harness.

Upon reins, it dispenses ywith the buckle and loop, greatly facilitating, both in time and effort, the fastening and nnt'astening; and .by its rigidity of connection, ehwiates the slack which occ-nrs in thelooseness of the joints of the ordinary snap-hook and the strap, while it is more neat and tasteful in appearance.

As represented in the drawings, the hook A has a bod'yB, of the width of the strap for which it is designed, which is recessed on the back to receive said strap, leaving, by preference, a shoulder at the end, as at c.

'lhe hook is provided with the usual tongue D, pivoted to the body at c, and held in position by the pressure of the spring f, which is conceals-din a. recess in the body, between the back of the saine and the leather.

It is secured by a wire staple or clamp, g, the ends of which pass through and are riveted on the top ofy B; or lugs may be cast upon the body for the same purpose, with equivalent et'eet.

In this position the spring is protected, by thefmetal body and the leather strap, from dirt, moisture, or injury,and is thereby-'rendered more durable and serviceable than when exposed to these intl uenccs.

I attach the strap t0 the body ot' the hook, either l,

by screws or rivets i c', or by stitching, as shown at h,

iig. 3. When designed for stitching, the edges ofthe metallic `platetorming the body are grooved or channelled, so that th`e stitches are not subject to wear.

The form of the body of my improved hook, tapering gradually from the hook-portion to the opposite end of the body, possesses important advantages over l ordinary snap-hooks, in that, by applying and fastenv ing the Astrap on a parallel plane with it, it obviates the necessity of doubling the strap into a loop, and also dispenses with the billet for attaching the buckle, thus rendering it stronger, neater, and more convenient for handling, from .the rigidity which the end ot' the strap receives from the metal. The strap lasts longer, for the reason that there is no friction on the leather, as when the hook and strap are intel-locked together, or where it is buckled into the ordinary ring ofthe bit.

The hook should, by preference, be formed to incline back from. the body, so that the surface. where the rein or strap is attached, shall be on a line with that point in the inner portion ofthe hook which-is in contact with the bit-ring. This causes the rein to be drawn or hung in a straight direction from the bitring.

They may be made of wrought, malleable, cast-iron,

'or other metal.

What I claim as my invention, is 'A snap-hook, consisting ot' the hook A, spring yj' tongue D, elongated body B, and therecessed back for receiving the strap, so as to form a tiushed joint between the back and strap, the whole constructed substantially as described.

In .witness whereof, I have hereuntogsigned my name, in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses. RALPH L. FRASER.

Witnesses:

` ERAsTUs ELY,

A. E. BUSSEY. 

